Chapter 38: Chapter THIRTY EIGHT

Mia had spent the first hour lost in thought absentmindedly tapping her heel against the stone floor of the hall, which had ended up considerably annoying the Vila who asked her to stop twice before giving up on finding that it was an unconscious and nervous gesture. During the second hour, Andrei had joined them in silence, sitting in one of the armchairs next to the young human. Ethan hadn't even protested, which showed the incredible seriousness of the situation. The time was over for quarrels and reproaches, they had to work hand in hand if they wanted to get out of this alive.

Each member of the trio seemed drowned in their mind in an attempt to calm their nerves and control their emotions. The silence that reigned in their corner of the room was heavy, but almost reassuring in a way, because they were all in the same situation. Finally, about twenty minutes before departure, Andrei got up with a sigh and looked at the blonde.

"It's time to join the others, we're going soon."

The frantic eyes of the young human met the stern ones of the Vila before they rose in unison. A deep breath later – she was afraid of tripping, her muscles were so tense – and the trio rushed once again to the upper floors to reach the top of the cliff. Several soldiers and sorcerer engineers wished them good luck with greetings as they passed, but there was no nod from the familiar heads of Zerkan, Vasily, or even Ellana.

And for good reason, the trio was obviously the last to arrive. The General of the Resistance was talking energetically with Zerkan and Vassili. A few yards away, six Sentinels in their black uniforms were busy saddling four wyverns who gesticulated considerably more than Taure. The creatures, surely less docile than the female, must also have felt the tension in the air.

Eleven against hundreds of magical creatures, great, Mia counted.

"Since everyone is here, departure in ten minutes," announced Zerkan when he saw the trio arrive.

Tishuan gave them a small wave before continuing his task of harnessing Taure again when he heard that the Commander had started the countdown. He invited them to come forward so as not to miss the last details before the start of the operation.

"I'll be leading the procession with Alfa," he explained, pointing to a majestic, already-saddled wyvern that was resting by the waterhole waiting to fly. "Taure will follow us without you needing to guide her, don't worry. All wyverns today are used to group formations. We shouldn't encounter any obstacles on the journey, but, if anything unforeseen happens and you lose the party, take this."

Zerkan slipped into Mia's hands a kind of thin leather necklace covered with symbols. The jewel was way too big for a humanoid neck. She stuffed it in her pocket because she couldn't place it at her own throat without asking questions, understanding that the object was necessary.

"Each flight pair has one, they are connected. If you get lost, put it around Taure's neck and let her do it. Trust her, wyverns are comfortable in the dark and you don't know the way anyway."

The Commander paused briefly to give the couple time to confirm that they understood that part of his explanation. They both nodded for him to continue.

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“When you get Solomon's attention, break it in half. Our magician will immediately sense that a link has been broken. It will be our signal to advance in the undergrounds."

The magician, having heard that they were talking about him, nodded to the couple with a smile. He was a small, dark-haired, slender man with almond-shaped brown eyes and a snub nose. His very feminine face embodied gentleness, and his gaze shone with intelligence and mischief. He emanated an aura of immediate confidence that somewhat reassured Mia. She smiled back at him immediately.

"Andrei, are you ready? Did you have time to prepare your spells with Igor?" Zerkan inquired.

"Yeah," he said before turning to Ellana to grumble, "but I had to pay for one out of my pocket again. Igor didn't want to give it to me for free because restocking is supposedly complicated."

The General sighed, rubbing her forehead in exasperation, annoyed by the complaint of the wizard who didn't realize that his timing was out of place. His determined pout showed that he didn't intend to drop the case before Ellana addressed his complaint seriously.

"We'll see when you get back, okay?"

The remaining ten minutes passed at a much faster speed than the previous two hours, thus sounding the official start of the operation. Zerkan ordered each participant to join their wyvern and climb into the saddle to prepare for takeoff. Again, Ethan helped his soul mate to straddle Taure who was no longer as still as during practice. The electric vibe had finally won over her too, and now she was eager to take flight and soar through the air.

"Let's go!" announced the Commander, positioning himself comfortably in his saddle and clicking his tongue against his palate to order the animal to take off.

Immediately, the other wyverns joined Alfa in her race towards the edge of the cliff, and the creatures threw themselves one after another into the void to better reach the heavens. Mia couldn't help her fingers from clinging to the bar again, takeoff definitely not being her favorite moment. Seeing the void flash before her eyes as they rushed to the edge of the rock was more like a nightmare vision.

Once in the air, the wyverns placed themselves in a row of two behind their head of the procession in a formation that loosened as they advanced, leaving several tens of meters of space between each row. Quickly, they reached the forest and flew about a hundred meters above the trees, not allowing the couple to see the end of the wood which seemed endless. The cool breeze of the non-desert climate was a pleasant change from the sometimes stuffy atmosphere of Callis. The sensation of finally breathing fresh air delighted the blonde's lungs, who allowed herself a little relaxation by pressing her body against Ethan's chest, who had quickly given up holding the bar to wrap his arms around the waist of his soul mate, a much more comfortable position.

"If we weren't walking into the lion's den and running toward our possible death, it would be a very pleasant moment, even almost romantic, don't you think?" she joked, relaxing a little.

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